People in town call it "the house with the hedge." In front of 108 Main St., the topiary hedge, with its nine carefully shaped bumps, resembles the back of a sea serpent. Homeowner Greg Kavanagh does the trimming. "It's all technique," he says, with a laugh. "It tells you the way it wants to go."

Meantime, bordering the backyard that stretches to the Wachusett Aqueduct, a row of pyramid yews, when trimmed, resembles giant Hershey's Kisses. The Kavanagh family has had a bit of fun while taking great care with the grounds. "The landscaping is beautiful," says broker Jen Green Thompson, noting the that giant oak in front turns a striking orange in autumn.

Kavanagh says his fondest memories of the house are of his mother, the late Anita Brodeur Kavanagh, for whom the house was built in 1983, and with whom he lived with in her later years.

She preferred an informal feel to the family room, which has a 14-foot cathedral ceiling of pine and a brick fireplace. A niche for holding firewood can be filled from the opposite side of the wall in the garage. A bow window surveys the front yard with its trees and hedges.

The prime view in the house is in the other direction, toward the aqueduct. The carpeted living and dining area enjoys a vista of the spacious backyard, bordered by vegetable gardens and the eye-catching yews, that runs to the waterway.

A pleasing vantage is from the three-season porch, Kavanagh's favorite room in the house, especially "around dusk, going from the sun to the moon," he said. From the enclosed porch, sliders open to a maintenance-free deck. The view is south-facing with sunsets to the right.

The porch and deck, with their beautiful vista, lend themselves to get-togethers, he said. On Southborough Summer Nights, the town festival in late August, "the fireworks are right overhead." People with fishing poles may be seen along the Wachusett Aqueduct, he said, and it is possible to put a canoe or kayak in the waterway. A nature trail runs along the water's edge.

The first floor features a master suite in a wing with a separate sitting room, and a carpeted bath with marble-top vanity, Jacuzzi tub and separate makeup area. The master bedroom looks out on the front yard, with its hydrangea, pyramid yews and topiary hedge. The eat-in kitchen, with peninsula, granite countertops and stainless appliances, looks out via the porch to the backyard beyond. Every room in the house (save for the basement) has a window with a view.

The second floor also has a master bedroom, with its own higher-up view of the backyard and aqueduct, and a set of spacious built-in bookshelves above the bed where Kavanagh, a music-lover, once housed his album collection. This master bedroom has his-and-hers closets and a remodeled bath with tile shower and granite vanity. Two more bedrooms are located off the sitting area on the hardwood-floored landing.

Page 2 of 2 - Downstairs, the fully finished basement has five rooms, including a media room heated by a Vermont Castings wood stove. Outside, a fenced inner yard serves as a dog run for Kavanagh's Australian shepherd and cockapoo.

Garage space is available for three cars - four, if you count the back shed. The main garage has nine-foot doors and the attic above, accessible via pull-down door, has as much space as the garage below.

Thompson describes this home as a "rare opportunity to live on exclusive Main Street," minutes from the Fay School and St. Mark's School in the center of a town known for its outstanding educational system, strong community spirit, and convenient commuter access.

"This is a great house for an expanding family," she said. "Turnkey, yet with so much potential."